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PC_12-15-93_Meeting_MinutesMEETING MINUTES OF THE FREDERICK COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Held in the Board Room of the Old Frederick County Court House in Winchester, Virginia on December 15, 1993. PRESENT: Planning Commissioners present were: James W. Golladay, Jr., Chairman; Todd D. Shenk, Gainesboro District; S. Blaine Wilson, Shawnee District; Ronald W. Carper, Gainesboro District; Robert Morris, Shawnee District; Roger L. Thomas, Opeyuon District; Manuel C. DeHaven, Stonewall District; Marjorie H. Copenhaver, Back Creek District; John H. Light, Stonewall District; and George L. Romine, Citizen at Large. ABSENT: John R. Marker, Vice Chairman /Back Creek District Planning Staff present were: Robert W. Watkins, Director; W. Wayne Miller, Zoning Administrator; and Kris C. Tierney, Deputy Planning Director. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Golladay called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MINUTES The first order of business was the consideration of the minutes of November 3, 1993. Upon motion made by Mr. Carper and seconded by Mr. Romine, the minutes of November 3, 1993 were unanimously approved as presented. BIMONTHLY REPORT Chairman Golladay accepted the Bimonthly Report for the Commission's information. 3747 2 COMMITTEE REPORTS Sanitation Authority (SA) - Mtg. of 12/15/93 Mrs. Copenhaver reported that all SA water transmission lines are in service from north to south and east to west. She said that the Southview subdivision is now receiving municipal water and the wells are off line. She reported that the James H. Diehl Water Treatment Plant, located in Stephens City, is scheduled for inspection on Monday and will commence operation upon Health Department approval. Mrs. Copenhaver added that by next week, there will be quarry water in the lines and the Sanitation Authority will be operating independent of river water. Mrs. Copenhaver added that dedication of the James H. Diehl Water Treatment Plant is scheduled for Friday, December 17. Economic Development Commission Mr. Romine reported that the budget and plans for the next fiscal year have been completed. WAIVER TO SHARED PRIVATE DRIVEWAY WIDTH BY HAZEL V. REHBOCK Action - Approved Mr. Miller said that this request is for a waiver to the width requirement of a shared private driveway owned by Mrs. Hazel V. Rehbock. Mr. Miller said that Mrs. Rehbock, an elderly woman, is being represented by Mr. and Mrs. Cockerham, who take care of Mrs. Rehbock and her property. He explained that Mrs. Rehbock wants to subdivide a 5.335 acre tract off her 76.36 acre property, zoned RA, for construction of a home by Mr. and Mrs. Cockerham. He said that Mrs. Rehbock will retain ownership of the lot and the house. Mr. Miller said that the problem is that the applicant has only a 14' to 16' width on an approximately one half mile strip of land used for access through the Gordon C. Hildebrand property to Cedar Grove Road. Mr. Miller said he believed that every effort has been expended by the applicant to acquire the necessary 50' right -of -way width; however, since this is not possible, the staff recommends that the request be approved with the restriction that the property be limited to division of just three lots. Mr. Miller said that the surveyor has agreed to place this wording on the plat. The staff noted that the ordinance allows for the division of three lots on a shared 3748 3 private driveway; however, with the division of a fourth lot, a state- maintained road is required to serve the lots. The Planning Commissioners were concerned that problems may arise concerning use of the right -of -way because two parties were involved, possibly three in the future, and because of the length of this narrow section of right -of -way (approx. 1/2 mile). The Commissioners also debated whether or not this situation could be considered a "farm- tenant" operation and, therefore, subdividing a second lot would not be necessary. Mr. Allen Ebert, the applicant's surveyor, said that he would place specific wording on the plat stating that an easement is granted across the Hildebrand and Kirby properties to the 5.335 acre parcel so that there would be no question about access. Mr. Ebert said that this could also be specifically stated in the deed of dedication. Mr. Earl Cockerham felt that Mrs. Rehbock's property should be considered as a farm operation and he and his wife tenants because they maintained cattle on a 24 -hour basis. After some discussion, it was the consensus of the Commission that possible future access problems could be alleviated if specific wording was placed on the final plat restricting further division of the parent tract to only one more lot unless the necessary 50' right -of -way was obtained. Upon motion made by Mr. Carper and seconded by Mr. Wilson, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously approve a request for waiver of a shared private driveway width by Mrs. Hazel V. Rehbock with the restriction that only one more lot can be divided from the parent tract unless the necessary right -of -way is acquired to permit construction of a state - maintained road. This restriction should be required on the final plat so as to become a part of the recorded instrument. RECOMMENDATION AND FINAL REPORT ON THE ALTERNATE WASTEWATER TREATMENT STUDY Mr. Tierney began by giving the Planning Commission some background information regarding the report and study. He said that this study originated in the winter of 1991 when the Planning District Commission applied for and received a 604B Grant through the State Water Control Board to look for possible alternative wastewater treatment systems that could be applied to three rural community centers in the county. He said that the three community centers chosen were Roundhill, Clearbrook, and Brucetown because they were somewhat representative of the other community centers in the county and it was thought that whatever technology was used for these could be applied elsewhere and also, these areas had a demonstrated need for improved wastewater treatment. Mr. Tierney said that concerns have been 3749 E expressed on all three of these areas for a number of years in terms of groundwater contamination. Mr. Tierney said that the reason for looking for alternatives to conventional large scale treatment systems were primarily cost and also the desire not to promote large scale growth in those areas. He said that subsequent to the grant, the county formed a Technical Advisory Committee to oversee the grant and resulting recommendations. That committee was made up of representatives of the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, a citizen representative from each of the areas, a representative from the Health Department, the Sanitation Authority, the Soil Conservation Service, and the State Water Control Board. Mr. Tierney continued, stating that the first meeting of the TAC was held in November of 1991. He said that Mr. Stephen Dicks, with the EPA Small Flows Clearing House in Morgantown, West Virginia, presented some recommendations to the TAC on systems the county may want to pursue in the three selected areas. Mr. Tierney said that a septic survey of the selected areas was conducted July through October of 1992 and it was concluded that there was reason for concern for groundwater contamination. He said that following that survey, in January of 1993, an engineering firm, P. M. Brooks & Associates, was hired to study the selected areas and develop recommendations on possible alternative treatment methods. Mr. Tierney said that the report presented in the Commission's agenda is the result of P.M. Brooks & Associate's study and recommendations. Mr. Tierney reviewed the report with the Commissioners. He said that the report calls for the use of a central collection system for each of the core (densely populated) areas, which are characterized as small lots with little room for repair of existing systems. He said that from the central collection point, it would be possible to connect to a central sewer system (at Rt. 37 in the Roundhill area) or discharge into a designated creek (Brucetown, Clearbrook). The remaining larger lots could be treated on -site, either by repairing existing systems or installing individual discharge systems. The report suggested that some of the large lot areas may be suitable for using either spray irrigation systems or non - discharge systems. Mr. Tierney said that the overall cost estimate was $1.4 - $2.8 million for the Roundhill area and $1.9 - $2.5 million for the combined Clearbrook /Brucetown areas, depending on the actual systems used. Mr. Tierney stated that the report recommends that whichever system is used, it should be maintained and operated by the Winchester - Frederick County Service Authority. He said that Wellington Jones, the Engineer /Director for the Sanitation Authority, has stated that the best way to accomplish this is through a Sanitary District. The advantage is that assessed taxes could help to supplement fees for service and the Authority would own and operate the system. Mr. Tierney added that another advantage of using the Sanitary District was that the service area could not be expanded and, therefore, growth in the area could be controlled. 3750 E Mr. Tierney said that the TAC studied the consultant's report at length and they concluded that the report amounts to a first step in solving the existing and anticipated wastewater problems for the three areas, however, they felt that some key policy questions /issues needed to be addressed at this point. He said that the TAC feels that the issues needing resolved are: Will the Roundhill area be permitted to tie into the existing sewer line lying just to the east of Route 37? 2. Will the Sanitation Authority accept the responsibility for operation and maintenance of the proposed collection and treatment systems? 3. Will connection to a system be mandatory? TAC believes that the feasibility and effectiveness of any of the proposed systems will depend greatly on the participation of the homeowners /residents within the study areas. Mr. Tierney said that another issue, somewhat outside the scope of this discussion, was whether the county would entertain the possibility of running waterlines to the Clearbrook/Brucetown area at the same time as the proposed central collection system. Mr. Tierney stated that there could be significant economic benefits in coordinating the two efforts. The Planning Commission felt that the consultant's report and the TAC's recommendations were a major step forward in the process for improved wastewater treatment in the three study areas. The Commission felt that the next logical step in the continuation of this process was for the Comprehensive Plans & Programs Subcommittee to study the policy issues and report back to the Commission. No other action was taken by the Commission at this time. THE PROPOSED 1994 -1995 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN Mr. Tierney presented Frederick County's 1994 -1995 Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) as recommended by the Comprehensive Plans and Programs Subcommittee (CP &PS) at their meeting of November 23, 1993. Mr. Tierney said that the proposed CIP contained 33 projects with a total cost of $87,986,001 which included an estimated debt service on all projects except the county offices (funding for this project is as yet undecided). He said that the total cost did not include Sanitation Authority projects or landfill projects, which are paid for out of fees generated. He explained that 51,724,700 of this amount would come from the county's general fund over a five -year period (not including debt service). Mr. Tierney said that the projects proposed for the first year would have a total county cost of $10,763,353 including estimated debt service for all projects, with the exception of the county offices. 3751 M Mr. Tierney summarized the proposed projects for the Commission. He said that the only new projects in this year's School Board request were the replacement of chillers at Aylor Middle School and Bass Hoover Elementary School and the replacement of a section of roof at James Wood. He said that the Parks & Recreation Department has proposed a new bicycle facility as their number one priority and the bulk of the cost will be funded through the ISTEA grant which the county received. Mr. Tierney said that this is the first year the Airport Authority has been included in the CIP. He said that the Airport Authority has their own CIP which is reviewed and approved by the FAA, however, many of their projects rely in part on county funding. He said that the airport projects include a taxiway relocation, land acquisition for and the construction of a T- hanger taxiway, and a 16 -unit T- hanger. Mr. Tierney continued, stating that there were a number of new landfill related projects, including closure of two landfill sections, development of ten acres of new landfill space, construction of a leachate treatment facility, a composting/waste inspection facility, and the expansion of the citizen's convenience center at the landfill. Mr. Tierney stated that the Sanitation Authority projects remain essentially the same as last year. Mr. Tierney concluded by saying that a number of changes were made in the way in which projects were ranked as well as the information which was required from the departments submitting requests. Mr. Tierney reviewed the revised project request forms with the Commission and he explained the structured evaluation process which was developed by the Planning Staff and used to rate proposed projects. The Commission questioned the feasibility of renovating and air conditioning some of the elementary schools instead of using the money for construction of new facilities. They also commented that some of the debt service figures presented by the School Board seemed to he high. Other than these items, the Commission had no major problems with any of the proposed projects and had no changes to the priority listing. Upon motion made by Mrs. Copenhaver and seconded by Mr. Light, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Frederick County Planning Commission does hereby unanimously endorse Frederick County's 1994 -1995 Capital Improvements Plan and recommends approval to the Board of Supervisors. 3752 REPORT ON THE 1993 PLANNING COMMISSION RETREAT Mr. Watkins presented a report on the 1993 Annual Planning Commission Retreat for the Commission's information. ADJOURNMENT No further business was discussed and the meeting adjourned at 7;45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, � Robert W. Watkins, V . - lat G ollada y, iii 3753